All summer long, NBA Game Time's celebrating the global reach of the game we love. Over the course of 90 days - leading up to the 2014 Global Games in October - get to know more about the international faces of the NBA. Day 11 brings us…
Marco Belinelli (G, San Antonio Spurs) Italy
Height: 1.96m, 6 -foot-5 in| Weight: 95.3kg, 210 pounds | Born: 25 March, 1986
Mamma Mia! – Bill Land of Spurs TV said it best with this catch phrase when Marco Belinelli was on the court this season.
The Bologna native certainly made his home country proud this year becoming the first Italian-born player to win an NBA title. It came during a season where everything was going right for Belinelli. He put up some of the best numbers of his 7 years in the NBA including career highs in free-throw percentage, field goal percentage and three-point percentage (even leading the league in the latter category for a time). He also had a career high 32 points in a single game versus the Knicks on 2 January and became the first Italian to win the Three-Point Contest at the NBA All-Star this year.
This whirlwind of a year for Belinelli began during the off-season last year when he was traded from the Chicago Bulls to the San Antonio Spurs. At the time he discussed his excitement to play on the Spurs with Ginobili, Duncan and Parker as "a dream." In fact, Belinelli had been an admirer of Ginobili long before his trade to the Spurs when they played in the Italian League together when Belinelli was just 15 years old.
Perhaps that added to the undeniable chemistry between a team that stunned the Miami Heat into silence taking the title in just 5 games. Belinelli seemed to be a missing piece for the Spurs that lost to the Heat in the Finals one year earlier. Belinelli has thrived in San Antonio so far and will have us all yelling "Mamma Mia!" next year too.
Key Stats:
2013-14 Season- GP: 80 | MPG: 25.2 | PTS: 11.4 | REB: 2.8 | AST: 2.2 | 3FG%: 43.0%
Playoffs- GP: 23 | MPG: 15.5 | PTS: 5.4 | REB: 2.3 | AST: 0.8| 3FG%: 42.1%
Season Highlight: 2014 NBA Champion. Playoff high 19 points vs. Portland on 6 May during the Spurs run to the title.
Awards:
*2013-14 NBA Championship with the San Antonio Spurs
*2014 NBA Three-Point Shootout Champion
5 Things to Know:
1. To commemorate winning his first NBA title, he permanently inked the Larry O'Brien trophy on his arm.
2. Prior to the NBA, he played five seasons in Italy for Virtus Bologna and Fortitudo Bologna
3. His first visit to the United States was in 2007 when he attended the NBA draft in New York.
4. When he was 22 years old, he got a driver's license for the first time. He never drove in Italy or in his rookie season in the NBA. (per Spurs.com)
5. His second career choice after professional basketball would be to work in the fashion industry (per Spurs.com)
Check out Belinelli's photos and video in the LEAGUE section of NBA Game Time.
Previous: Aron Baynes (F/C, San Antonio Spurs) Australia | Next Up: Anthony Bennett (F, Cleveland Cavaliers) Canada